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Pluto had wanted to go to Paris to see The Fearless Fortunato since he was sixteen years old.
There’d been a flyer posted up at the train station that Pluto would sit at frequently to watch the passengers go by, and it had caught his eye. A French magician, two years older than him, who could escape any lock and earn money doing it- Pluto was hooked.
Not to mention very attracted. Duke Laurent was quite the looker.
Of course, things got in the way. Work, his dad, him… dying, and all that. It was never a good time to go see some magic show.
But Pluto’s luck finally seemed to be going his way when he became friends with his favorite celebrity on his second day at Nevermore Academy.
Not that he’d remembered who Duke was back then- no he just seemed like a bit of a prick, maybe a handsome one at that, but still annoying, at least at first.
Then he would start complimenting Pluto, and making him laugh, and tease him in such an endearing way that Pluto was finding it harder and harder to pretend he disliked it.
Then Duke was gone.
Didn’t show up to class, name flickering on the board, making Pluto feel like he was going to throw up.
They’d rescued him, of course. He was safe, now, lying next to Pluto in the room they now shared and snoring gently.
But. Pluto knew, now.
He’d seen the flyer, he’d remembered.
He remembered the day Duke died. It hadn’t been on Blackpool’s paper, of course- not many people in the town would give a shit about some magician from Paris, no matter how famous Duke was.
But the passengers coming off the trains would talk, and Pluto would listen.
Listen for news of a drop in house pricing, or a new mayor, or news of Duke. And there was certainly news that day.
Drowned. During one of his own tricks, Duke drowned while everyone in his audience sat and watched and did nothing.
(Pluto’s dad had gotten pissed at him when he came home angrily slamming doors left and right, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care back then.)
Duke was dead, and Pluto was never going to meet him.
So the cycle continued, of work, eat, sleep, repeat, with considerably less visits to the train station, until Pluto finally couldn’t take it anymore.
And, well, he knew how that ended.
I’m sharing a room with the Fearless Fortunato, Pluto thought to himself, slightly giddy and slightly panicked out of his mind.
Plus a bit heartbroken. ‘Mean, he hadn’t really believed he'd had a chance with Duke before, but now that Pluto knew he was once one of the biggest stars in Paris of his generation, someone Pluto had been looking up to and secretly crushing on since he was sixteen?
There was just no way.
And Pluto supposed that was fine. He could get over it, relish the fact that he could even call Duke his friend.
That was mad enough, right? That was good enough.
-Right?
Duke had always found British accents endearing, but Pluto’s took it to a whole new level.
When he first met the smaller boy, he would never have thought he could fall this hard, but it was quite surprising how the anxious young man from the trials had shaped up so quickly to be Duke’s favorite person.
Offering him his coat, worrying about him being sick, seemingly actually finding it annoying when Duke changed the subject from how he was “feeling” to another stupid insult or prank.
It was just so rare for Duke to find somebody who cared about him when he was at his worst, who didn’t see his weaknesses as a chance to steal his job or his money.
But no, Pluto almost seemed to prefer the sides of Duke that he would only show when they were alone, the parts that he hated about himself and that he wished didn’t exist.
Which was silly, of course. Duke was only liked when he was strong, when he was funny, and smart, and a perfect star.
But still, when it was late at night and the memories of his life haunted Duke’s mind without asking for consent of any kind and made him toss and turn in his sleep, it was nice to think that Pluto could actually like who he really was.
Sometimes he reminded Duke of Luca, in a way, although a bit less stuck-up and less redheaded. But in the sense that he was always getting pissed off at Duke’s teasing jokes and tricks, Duke could definitely see a similarity- only difference, really, was that when he annoyed Luca he meant what he said- he’d always found the redhead infuriating, and not in the hot way.
But with Pluto, he really was just trying to let him know how much he mattered to him when he teased him. Not that it always worked out in Duke’s favour, which was quite annoying, seeing as this was the first time Duke could remember actually caring if he pissed someone off.
Which happened to be a lot with Pluto. He was very easy to piss off, and unfortunately for him, looked very cute when he was, which didn’t help Duke’s obsession with bugging him.
Pluto still hadn’t stopped talking to him yet, though, and he almost definitely wasn’t planning on murdering him, so maybe it wasn’t as bad as Duke thought.
Sure, Pluto might hate him sometimes, but as long as he stayed by Duke’s side, it would be enough. If Duke thought the world of Pluto while his roommate probably loathed him, but they got to spend time together, at the very least then Duke could pretend he was the perfect person for Pluto.
He could pretend he wasn’t doomed to be alone with his jokes and tricks forever, too infuriating to ever be loved.
He could live with that, right? With being useful here and there for a laugh or a magic show, and making sure nobody actually got too close to him, lest they realize what a mess he was, how awful he was.
But again- it was nice to play pretend, especially since Pluto made him feel like he didn’t have to sometimes.
Like maybe it was the truth that he liked Duke, and not just the Fearless Fortunato.
“They really need to shorten the lengths of those classes, mon dieu,” Duke complained after the final class of the day as he and Pluto walked back to their shared dorm together.
“We ditch half the classes anyways, I don’t see why you’re complaining,” Pluto countered.
“But the ones we do show up for go on too long,” Duke explained. “That’s all that I’m saying.”
“‘Wish curfew weren’t so early,” Pluto said when they reached their room, unlocking the door. Duke went in after him and dramatically flipped onto his bed.
“What would you even want to do here if you could wander around after dark?”
Pluto shrugged, hanging his coat up on the hook by his bed. “‘Dunno. This place is just really nice-looking, with all its gardens and fancy architecture.”
Duke scoffed. “Please. Paris was much prettier.”
“What was it… like?” Pluto asked, perking up.
Duke grinned. “Well, I just so happened to be one of the top magicians there, so that certainly heightened my experience.”
He made a fist dramatically, holding it up. “Before I was tragically killed-“ He turned to his wide-eyed roommate. “-Murdered, I should say. I believe I was sabotaged. But before that, I was known far and wide throughout France as the one, the only, le merveilleux-”
“Fearless Fortunato,” Pluto breathed, slapping his hands over his mouth the second the words were out of his mouth.
A grin started to slowly form on Duke’s face.
“N-no,” Pluto stammered, glaring slightly through his embarrassed blush. “Stoppit.”
“Pluto, were you... a fan? Of me?”
“No!”
“You were! You are!”
“I’m not!”
Duke smirked. “Then how’d you know my stage name, hm?”
“I-I saw it on the sign. When Montresor gave me your stuff.”
“You sure?” Duke asked, pushing himself up off his bed and walking over to Pluto. “Because you’ve been looking at me differently recently. Did you happen to unlock a new memory?” He grinned again. “Maybe a new memory of your favorite celebrity?”
“I'd heard of you,” Pluto lied, crossing his arms across his chest grumpily. “‘Barely knew who you were. Don’t get too excited.”
Duke sat down beside Pluto, resting his elbow on the shorter boy’s head. “This is very exciting. Didn’t realize my roommate was such a fanboy.”
“I’m not,” Pluto hissed. “Not anymore. ‘Think they were right when they said ‘don’t meet your heroes.’”
“What, am I not what you expected?”
Pluto raised an eyebrow. “You’re a lot less attractive in person. I think your tongue takes away from your looks.”
Duke tapped his chin. “So, if I shut up a bit more, you’d find me hot?”
“N-not what I said.” Pluto coughed.
“Kinda is~”
“I have no issue with you talking. I just thought you’d act more like a person in real life,” Pluto snapped.
Duke was taken aback for a second before forcing out a laugh. “Why, whatever do you mean?”
“You still act like you’re performing. It’s annoying, and I’d prefer if you stopped.”
Pluto looked down, not quite knowing why he was mad all of a sudden- Duke had always acted like a performer, but now that Pluto knew that he was one for sure, that he’d died as one- he couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt when Duke continued treating him like just another one of his fans.
He knew it was unlikely he could ever be more than that, that he could ever mean more than that to Duke, but still.
He thought that this would be different.
He had a chance here to know Duke like he’d never had been able to in life, but Duke, of course, didn’t care. He never would. That was a fact of life, right?
Duke scoffed. “I’m a performer. It’s what I do.” He lifted his shoulder off Pluto’s head, shifting his body away slightly. “Anyways, what do you know about me? Maybe this is just who I am!”
“Maybe,” Pluto muttered, seeming to annoy Duke even more.
“Why do you constantly want more from me than I give you!?” the Frenchman asked. “You got to meet me, and I’m constantly performing for you for free!”
He got up to stand angrily, not understanding in the slightest what Pluto wanted before the shorter boy grabbed his wrist and yanked him back so he sat back down next to him on the bed. Duke’s face turned a shade darker.
“Yeh, well, I never asked for that,” Pluto mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
“...You don’t need to,” Duke replied, forcing a grin. “It’s a given, you know!? Always a preference towards those who keep their disgusting secrets hidden.”
He laughed awkwardly. “Ah- not that I have any of those, eheh.”
Duke was expecting some new retort from Pluto, knowing full well that he was already straying too far into vulnerable territory that would have lost him fans in real life, but the shorter boy simply shot him a worried glance that made Duke’s skin crawl and rested his head onto his arm.
“Uhm… you can tell me. If you do,” Pluto said quietly. “I’ll still like you.”
Duke froze up. “You like me?”
“I- I mean, not in that sense! Well, I do in that sense, but that’s not what I meant, and, you know, it-” Pluto coughed again and cut himself off before he could ramble any more.
“I just meant, you could- We’re friends, y’know? We don’t have to play with those same roles we had in life. Where you maybe… had to perform. And I didn’t know you.”
“Pluto-”
“A-and you’re right, I still don’t know you, but it’d be nice if you’d let me,” Pluto muttered, making Duke feel like he was short-circuiting.
No one had ever told him that before.
Pluto did not take his silence well. “Uh- I m-mean, if you want, I don’t- I’m sorry, this was uncalled for, I just thought-”
Duke cut him off by pressing his mouth against his roommate's. He didn’t think he’d ever wanted to kiss somebody more in his entire life- er, death.
Pluto blinked before shutting his eyes and kissing back. “I didn’t think you-” Pluto said when they pulled apart to breathe. “I didn’t think you liked me back. Wow.”
“Shh,” Duke said, pulling in his number one fan to kiss him again. “You’re not allowed to think that too.”
“Why in the world would you think I wouldn’t-!”
Duke glared at him affectionately. “I thought you wanted me to tell you how I was feeling.”
Pluto coughed and blushed. “Well, I just don't see why you would ever have a reason to-”
“Yes, and I could say the same of you, non? Why would a handsome, adorable, perfect person such as you feel insecure about me?”
Pluto was practically a tomato at this point.
“That seems shocking to me, and yet here we are. Suppose it’s because I’m-” Duke pressed his forehead against Pluto’s. “-Not perfect? Not actually oh-so-much better than you?”
“...I still think you are.”
“Mhm,” Duke said before kissing Pluto again. “Well, we can certainly change that.”
“Only if you’ll change your mind, too?” Pluto asked hopefully.
“Well, then we’d be in a bit of a conundrum, hm?” Duke teased. “If both of us are right about not being better than the other.”
Pluto nuzzled his head into Duke’s chest.
“...Maybe we can both be the same. Both be equally brilliant, or whatever.”
“I would love that, minou.”